FDA approves wearable device Embrace for seizure detection

Empatica Incorporation, reputed for developing wearable medical sensors based on human data analytics, has reportedly received the FDA approval for its award-winning smart watch. Embrace, as the device is popularly called, deploys AI technology for monitoring ‘generalized tonic-clonic’ & grand mal seizures and then sends alerts to caretakers for help.

As per Managed Care, a clinical study had been carried out on nearly 135 epileptics in the level 4 epilepsy monitoring units for more than 272 days. Apparently, the patients were subject to constant monitoring through video-EEG while wearing the smart watch. Post the study, Embrace was deemed successful in detecting nearly 100% of the seizures in the patients.

Healthcare service providers claim that Embrace indeed has the ability to measure myriad symptoms of seizures, having deployed electrodermal activity to detect the same. Reportedly, the smart watch has already received a green signal from the European authorities with the government approving its use as a medical equipment for seizure detection in early 2017.

As per the CDC, nearly 3.4 million of the U.S. populace, including more than 450,000 children, are affected by epilepsy. The National Public Health Institute states that approximately 35% of the epileptics fail to respond to the medication for controlling seizures while around one-third of the patients suffering from epilepsy have a partial response. Post Embrace’s launch, it has been speculated that wearable products such as smart watches can help patients receive timely treatment for epilepsy through early detection of seizures.

The Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at the New York University has declared that the decision by FDA to approve Embrace is a major landmark across the U.S. healthcare sector. He further states that the U.S. is likely to be majorly benefited through the product launch, since over 3000 U.S. residents die due to epilepsy every year.

About Author

Dhananjay Punekar

Dhananjay Punekar presently develops content for a slew of portals, including Market Size Forecasters and Algosonline. A post graduate in mathematics and business administration, he worked in Infosys BPO Limited prior to switching his professional genre. As a content wr...

More News By Dhananjay Punekar

AstraZeneca Pharma India, a division of pharma & biopharma giant AstraZeneca plc, has received a green signal from the Indian drug regulating agency DCGI (Drug Controller General of India) for its drug Durvalumab c...

BP Plc, a UK based oil & gas firm, has decided to terminate its USD 1.8 billion acquisition deal with Australian retail giant Woolworths. For the record, the British oil & gas company had signed a pact to purch...

The shares of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc., a medical research & drug development firm, climbed up by 50% after the firm released initial results derived from clinical treatment on patients suffering from Duchenne mus...